High Reading Skills Mask Dyslexia in Gifted Children

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High Reading Skills Mask Dyslexia in Gifted Children

Viersen, S. van

(2013) Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences Theses

(Master thesis)

Abstract

This study investigated the achievement and cognitive characteristics of gifted children with dyslexia. Based on previous research on twice-exceptionality, it was hypothesized that gifted children with dyslexia would outperform children with dyslexia on literacy tests and that their
performance was possibly even comparable to typically developing children. Additionally, it was expected ... read more that these children would have a specific cognitive profile with a mix of weaknesses related to their dyslexia and strengths related to their giftedness that can explain their reading/spelling performance. The sample consisted of 145 Dutch children from Grades 2 to 4, covering four groups: (a) dyslexia, (b) gifted/dyslexia, (c) typically developing (TD), and (d) gifted. An extensive assessment battery was used to measure literacy (word reading, nonword reading, text reading, and spelling) and cognitive abilities related to literacy and language (phonological awareness (PA), rapid automatized naming (RAN), verbal short-term
memory (VSTM), working memory (WM), grammar, and vocabulary). The data was analyzed using Bayesian statistics. Gifted children' s performance on both reading and spelling tests was in between that of children with dyslexia and TD children, illustrating the problems with adequate identification of twice-exceptional children. In addition, their cognitive profile showed signs of weaknesses in PA and RAN and strengths in VSTM, verbal and visuo-spatial WM, and language skills. Findings indicate that phonology is a risk factor for gifted children with dyslexia, but it is moderated by other skills such as WM, grammar, and vocabulary, providing opportunities for compensation of a cognitive deficit and masking
of literacy difficulties. show less

Full Text

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